


Little Wolf

by Twilight_Enterprises



Series: Twilight Has A (Not-So) Fun Time [2]
Category: Linked Universe - Fandom, The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
Genre: Fluff and Light Angst, Gen, Malon Is A Good Mother, Past Suicide Attempts, Twilight has a lot of feelings, Twilight is getting some legitimate love, and not all of them are depressing ones!, sometimes all you need is a conversation and a good hug with your mum
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-13
Updated: 2020-06-13
Packaged: 2021-03-04 00:40:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 924
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24694651
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Twilight_Enterprises/pseuds/Twilight_Enterprises
Summary: After Twilight's attempted suicide, the Links find themselves at Lon Lon Ranch. Malon, as it turns out, is more than ready to become a supportive mother.
Relationships: Background Malon (Legend of Zelda)/Time (Linked Universe), Malon (Legend of Zelda) & Twilight (Linked Universe)
Series: Twilight Has A (Not-So) Fun Time [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1785346
Comments: 6
Kudos: 130





	Little Wolf

**Author's Note:**

> A comment on "Make It Stop" asking for a sequel in which Twilight starts to get better is the reason this exists. That, and I'm pretty sure I can't just leave it where I did. I love this precious boy too much. Anyway, have some fluff? I think? It's a hell of a lot fluffier than the last thing I wrote, that's for sure...

_ Little Wolf.  _ It was just something his mother called him, one of those endearing things only your mother is allowed to call you. Of course, everyone who knew about the shapeshifting thing had a wolf-related nickname for him. 

Midna had called him “Light Wolf,” once, then dropped it to “Wolf,” both for simplicity and because it sounded better. 

Ilia called him “Wolf Boy.” It sounded stupid when anyone else said it, but Ilia somehow made it loving. 

Rusl and Uli called him “Alpha.” He wasn’t entirely sure why, he didn’t like being a leader. They said he was good at it, and soon the other adults in Ordon were calling him “Alpha,” too, even though they didn’t know the reason for the name existing.

Zelda called him “Doggo” when they were alone. It was the kind of name that would’ve been condescending from anyone other than the queen of Hyrule, but Zelda managed to make it sound loving. And she always said it in a tone that made him feel like she was the big sister he’d always wanted. She acted like it, too. 

And then he’d met the other heroes. They’d called him “Ranch hand” and “Farm boy,” but never anything wolf-related. Of course, they didn’t know that he and Wolfie were one and the same, and those that did knew better than to let it slip. 

Time, naturally, was the exception when it came to the nicknames. The eldest hero, unashamedly, called him “Pup,” and he was okay with that. As long as no one else called him that. 

Ganondorf and Zant had called him “Mutt,” and he absolutely  _ despised  _ it when anyone else said that in regards to either his Hylian form or his wolf one. 

And then they’d found themselves in Time’s Hyrule, at Lon Lon Ranch. It was their first switch after he’d nearly killed himself, and he could tell Time was hoping Malon could finally get it into his thick skull that people loved him, that his life was one worth living. 

Malon was alarmingly perceptive. They’d only been at the ranch for five minutes, and she’d already figured out something was wrong, and who the source of discomfort was. It only took another five minutes before she’d managed to get Twilight alone, grooming the horses together. 

“All right, spill it,” she ordered. “I know something’s up with you, and if you won’t tell me, Time will.”

She was a lot like Ilia. It threw him for a loop sometimes. 

When he didn’t respond for a few moments, Malon set down her brush, crossed her arms, and levelled him with a glare so terrifying it put  _ Time’s  _ to shame. 

Twilight sighed. “I tried to kill myself a couple of weeks ago.”

A myriad of emotions crossed her face, before settling on mournfulness. She crossed the barn in three strides, and pulled him into a tight embrace. 

“I’m sure you’ve heard this before,” she whispered, “but you’re not alone. Especially here. I…” She took a deep breath, the air tickling his ear. “My husband tried to kill himself, too, you know, years ago. We were so young at the time, I didn’t fully understand. I saw him bleeding out outside the ranch, and assumed a monster had done it. I told him to take better care of himself, and remember that he had a shield. He told me the truth a few years later, and I… naive as I was, told him he was stupid. Then he told me I was the reason he hadn’t tried again, that when I told him to take better care of himself, he found he didn’t want to let me down.” Malon pulled away slightly, a sad smile on her face. “I know I’m not your mother, but you’re my descendant, and that’s close enough for me. You, young man, are an incredible, strong, kind, generous, all around  _ wonderful  _ person, and I am  _ so proud of you. _ ”

It was amazing, really, how such simple words were all it took for him to break down and start sobbing in Malon’s arms. She didn’t say anything, just rubbed circles on his back. 

At one point, he distantly heard the door open, felt Malon shake her head slightly, then heard the door close again. Shortly after that, she started singing Epona’s Song.

Malon’s voice was so similar to that of Twilight’s mother that he felt like a five year old boy again, snuggled warmly in his mother’s arms, feeling  _ safe.  _ Feeling  _ loved.  _ It was something he hadn’t felt in years. It was something he’d missed feeling. 

The song was soothing in a way nothing had been in a long time, and he soon found his tears drying, his breathing evening out. 

Malon stepped back, though she left her hands on his shoulders. He was grateful for that. 

“How’re you doing, Little Wolf?” she asked softly. 

No one but his mother called him  _ Little Wolf.  _ Malon wasn’t his mother. He was… surprisingly okay with that. 

“I think I needed that,” he replied hoarsely. 

She smiled in a way that felt like  _ home.  _ “And how’re you feeling now?”

His cheeks flushed slightly with unwarranted embarrassment. “I… I feel… loved?”

Malon hugged him again, somehow conveying more with the gesture than words ever could. “That’s because you  _ are  _ loved, Little Wolf.”

He closed his eyes, content to bask in her affection. Then, almost too quietly for her to hear, he whispered three powerful words.

_ “Thank you, Mama.”  _

If he felt something wet in his hair, he didn’t say anything. 

**Author's Note:**

> I hope this made up for the pain I caused in the last one?


End file.
